Pavlos Kountouriotis

Pavlos Kountouriotis (Greek: Παύλος Κουντουριώτης, 9 April 1855 - 22 August 1935) was a Greek admiral and naval hero during the Balkan Wars and the first and third President of the Second Hellenic Republic.

Family Background

The Kountouriotes was a prominent Arvanite family from the island of Hydra. The original family name was Zervas but was allegedly changed to Kountouriotis, since one of their ancestors lived for a while in the village of Kountoura, Megarida. Many members of the family took part in the Greek War of Independence, including his grandfather, Georgios Kountouriotis, who also served as Prime Minister of Greece under King Otto.

Early life

Pavlos Kountouriotis was born in the island if Hydra in April 1855 to Theodoros Kountouriotis, son of Georgios, and Loukia Negreponte. He was the second child of nine, including Ioannis Kountouriotis. Little is known of his childhood. In 1875, following his family's long naval tradition, he joined the Royal Hellenic Navy presumably at the rank of Ensign.

Naval Service

First Achievements

In 1886 he took part in the naval operations at Preveza as a Lieutenant. During the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, serving as Lt. Commander he commanded the ship Alfeios. His ship took part in at least two landings of Greek troops on the island of Crete. In 1901, commanding the training ship Miaoulis, he was sent to Boston. This was reported as the first transatlantic trip of a Greek war vessel. Kountouriotis served as an aide-de-camp to King George I from 1908 until 1911, receiving the rank of Captain in 1909. In June 1911, Kountouriotis was send to Britain, to take control of the newly commissioned Averof, following the "blue cheese mutiny". As he was highly esteemed, he quickly reimposed discipline and set sail for Greece.

Balkan Wars

He was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1912, on the outbreak of the First Balkan War. During the Balkan Wars, with his flagship, the Georgios Averof, he led the Greek Navy to major victories against the Turkish fleet in December 1912 (Battle of Elli) and in January 1913 (Battle of Limnos), liberating most of the Aegean islands. His victories, due in large part to his daring but successful tactics, earned him the status of a national hero.

Politics

In 1916, he became a minister in the Stephanos Skouloudis government, but, in disagreement with the pro-German feelings of King Constantine I of Greece, he followed Eleftherios Venizelos to Thessaloniki were he was assigned the ministry of Naval Affairs in Venizelos' National Defence government. He subsequently retired from the navy, and when King Alexander I of Greece died in 1920, he became Regent of Greece until the elections that took place in November 1920 and brought King Constantine back.

President

In March 1924, after King George II of Greece was deposed, he was elected as the first President of the Second Hellenic Republic, but resigned the post in March, 1926 in opposition to General Pangalos' dictatorship. He was reelected president in May 1929, but due to serious health complications he resigned in December of the same year.

Death and honor

Pavlos Kountouriotis died in 1935. Α World War II Greek destroyer and a Standard-class frigate, the F 462 Kountouriotis, are named after him.

References

See also

• History of the Hellenic Navy